Sun Valley Film Festival Announces 2013 Lineup

A rich collection of independent narrative and documentary films have been selected for screening at the upcoming 2013 Sun Valley Film Festival, March 14-17. The selected 33 feature films were curated from hundreds of submissions by filmmakers throughout the US and 20 foreign countries.

The 2013 Sun Valley Film Festival feature film lineup includes 18 narratives and 15 documentaries, with five world premieres. The films announced today are just a portion of the films that will be screened, with other exciting film announcements forthcoming.

The range of subjects covered by the selected feature films is especially diverse, noted Festival Programming Director Laura Mehlhaff. "From drama, romance and adventure, to thrillers and comedy, to films that challenge the status quo in terms of storytelling, social issues, and in the craft of filmmaking itself, our goal was to curate a lineup that appealed to film lovers of all kinds," she remarked.

The Sun Valley Festival feature film lineup can be viewed at http://www.sunvalleyfilmfestival.org. In addition to the feature films announced today, the Sun Valley Film Festival will also be adding other new feature films, as well as selected short films, student films and music videos, all of which will be announced shortly and posted to the Festival website.

A group of friends reunite for their annual 4th of July holiday weekend hosted by Ellis and Wendy Conifer, a couple whose marital troubles are reaching their apex. Into this combustible mix walks Chad, a strange and beautiful nature photographer who is constantly putting himself in harm's way through his childlike innocence and his clumsily-placed camera; but there is something not quite right about the seemingly harmless newcomer. As the weekend progresses, old wounds and new betrayals surface among the friends as Chad begins to change their lives one by one. WIP: A "work in progress" film that is in final production stages but not yet completed.

Internet celebrity Xiaoni (An Yixuan) tries to attract more clicks to her Website by forging a kidnap live broadcast. But poet Baobao (Feng Yuanzheng), who admires Xiaoni so much, thinks the kidnap is true and takes all risks to rescue her. This attempt puts both of them in danger.

A young couple on a cross-country road trip loses their way in a blizzard and wind up stranded in the middle of nowhere. As the days pass, their relationship slowly deteriorates, leading to the film's chilling climax.

When winter begins, life is serene for a group of new-age Brooklynites living in a remote country farmhouse. Sex, drugs, yoga, and organic cooking absorb their days, safely tucked away from the stresses of urban life. But when a blackout of apocalyptic proportions strands them with no heat and no electricity during the coldest winter on record, their utopian commune is breached by anxiety and their idyllic harmony begins to lose its tune. As time wears on and the food supply dwindles, power struggles, jealousy, and desire threaten the group's ability to work together in order to survive.

Girl Rising is the feature-length film at the center of 10x10's global action campaign for girls' education. The film tells the stories of girls across the developing world, selected in consultation with acclaimed women writers and working closely with non-profit partners. These writers are not only our collaborators, but a bridge deep into the lives of the girls themselves, telling a story that might not be captured in a traditional documentary: a voice for girls who might otherwise never be heard. Directed by Academy Award nominee Richard Robbins, Girl Rising tells these stories in creatively re-imagined ways, through various stylistic and storytelling devices and with the voiceover talent of acclaimed actors like Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Selena Gomez, and Kerry Washington.

In 1947, the world is gripped with excitement as the young Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl embarks on an astonishing expedition-a journey of 4,300 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean on the Kon-Tiki raft. From his days living in the Marquesas with his wife Liv, Thor suspected that the South Sea Islands had been settled by ancient South Americans from thousands of miles to the east. Despite his inability to swim and his fear of water, Thor decides to prove his theory by sailing the legendary voyage himself. After replicating the design of an ancient raft in balsa wood, Thor and five fellow adventurers set sail from Peru. Their only modern equipment is a radio, and they take a parrot along for company. A natural leader, Thor uses the stars and the ocean's current to navigate the raft. After three dangerous months on the open sea, encountering raging storms, sharks, and all the dangers the ocean can muster, the exhausted crew spot Polynesia and make a triumphant landing. Having sacrificed everything for his mission, even his marriage, the success of the Kon-Tiki expedition proves bittersweet for Thor.

Ian Folivor, depressed and reclusive, finds himself taking advice from a fungal growth after a failed suicide attempt. The Mold, a smooth talking chunk of aspergillus born from the filth collecting in Ian's neglected bathroom, works to win Ian's trust by helping him clean himself up and remodel his lifestyle. Ian attracts the attention of a neighbor, Leah, and begins to receive strange messages from his broken TV that make him realize that The Mold may not be as helpful and well intentioned as it seems to be. Strange characters with even stranger events cast Ian's life a sharp relief in the shadow of an epic battle between good and evil that Ian is only partially aware of.

For years Samantha has wondered about where she came from. After inheriting a house from the family she never knew, Sam and three friends take a road trip to inspect the remote property. Soon after Sam arrives old memories come seeping back to her subconscious while jealousy and unspoken tension between the friends is forced to the surface. As relationships unravel, so does Sam's sanity. She soon finds herself unable to tell the difference between reality and the horrible visions of brutality she can't escape. While her world crumbles, Sam discovers that the current horrors may be tied directly to her past.

Starlet explores the unlikely friendship between 21 year-old aspiring actress Jane (Dree Hemingway) and elderly widow Sadie (Besedka Johnson) after their worlds collide in California's San Fernando Valley. Jane spends her time getting high with her dysfunctional roommates and taking care of her Chihuahua Starlet, while Sadie passes her days alone, tending to her garden. After a confrontation at a yard sale, Jane finds something unexpected in a relic from Sadie's past. Her curiosity piqued, she tries to befriend the caustic older woman. Secrets emerge as their relationship grows, revealing that nothing is ever as it seems.

A hot one-night stand turns into an awkward morning after when Guy (Joel David Moore) and Holly (Madeline Zima) get stuck together in a bumper-to-bumper dead-stopped traffic jam. As they begrudgingly get know each other, we learn of their sexually raucous evening and are then led to their surprising destiny.

Inspired by a true story, THE SAPPHIRES follows four vivacious, young and talented Australian Aboriginal girls from a remote mission as they learn about love, friendship and war when their all girl group The Sapphires entertains the U.S. troops in Vietnam in 1968. Cynthia (Tapsell), Gail (Mailman), Julie (Mauboy) and Kay (Sebbens) are discovered by Dave (O'Dowd), a good-humored talent scout with a kind heart, very little rhythm but a great knowledge of soul music. As their manager, Dave books the sisters their first true gig giving them their first taste of stardom, and travels them to Vietnam to sing for the American troops.

Some people believed that the world would end on December 21, 2012. Stacey, a self-defeating romanticist, was not quite sure. At The Day approaches, though the world ending seems unlikely, Stacey decides that if it were the last day, he'd want to share it with his former girlfriend, Parker. Despite their complicated history, he convinces her to forget their past and embrace the idea of spending just one last day together. They wander around Philadelphia, running into old friends and falling into old patterns, rarely stopping to consider the consequences. As The Day progresses, Stacey learns that sometimes it's best to forget yesterday and live for tomorrow.